Jean Glover

Biography

Jean Glover or Jennifer Glover (1758–1801) was a Scottish poet and singer. She was the daughter of James Glover, handloom weaver and Jean Thomson, born in Townhead, Kilmarnock; was well educated for the time she lived in, clever and sharp-witted. She had a fine singing voice and exceedingly good looks of "both face and figure". Robert Burns admired her voice and additionally he copied down her song "O'er the moor amang the heather" and sent it for printing in the Scots Musical Museum in 1792. Dougall records that Burns heard Jean in the Old Commercial Hotel in Croft Street, Kilmarnock. He matched it with a tune which first appeared in Bremner's Reels of 1760, and the song was also published in several later 18th Century collections. It is not clear where he heard her sing this song, however, it may have been at Irvine in 1781 as she was well known there and clearly he knew her well enough to record that she was "not only a whore but also a thief" and it has been suggested that he had one of his many affairs with her.

Bio from Wikipedia